Multi-monitor computer systems comprising multiple physical display devices connected to a common computing device such as for example a personal computer or the like, in order to provide an increased display area for computer programs running on the computing device, are becoming increasingly more popular. Depending on the environment, the physical display devices may be of different types (i.e. liquid crystal displays (LCDs), cathode ray tubes (CRTs), interactive whiteboards (IWBs), other display panels or devices etc.) and/or different sizes. In order to accommodate multiple physical display devices, video cards in many computing devices have multiple sockets to receive cables from more than one physical display device. Alternatively, some computing devices have multiple video cards to receive cables from more than one physical display device. In either case, video data generated by the video card(s) of the computing device in response to execution of one or more computer programs is output to the appropriate physical display device for display. Other multi-monitor computer systems have networked physical display devices where the physical display devices are connected via a wireless or wired network and video data is provided to the physical display devices via the network connection for display.
As is well known in Windows™-type operating system environments, when an application is to be launched as a result of being selected through a double-click mouse or similar event, the operating system creates an instance of the selected application and launches the selected application within a window presented on the physical display device. The window for the selected application is typically placed in one of two positions; either at its location of last use or at a default location. When it is desired to move an application window from one physical display device to another, the user must manipulate the displayed application window so that the application window is moved to the desired physical display device. When the physical display devices are closely spaced, although having to manipulate the displayed application windows may be inconvenient, it is a task that can be readily performed by the user.
In multi-monitor computer systems that employ interactive whiteboards, to move an application window from one interactive whiteboard to an adjacent destination or target interactive whiteboard, the user must drag the application window to the side of the interactive whiteboard that is proximate the adjacent target interactive whiteboard so that the application window appears partly on the adjacent target interactive whiteboard. The user must then move to the adjacent target interactive whiteboard, select the application window that is partly displayed and then drag the application window to the desired location on the target interactive whiteboard. If the application window is to be moved to yet another adjacent target interactive whiteboard, the above procedure must be repeated. As will be appreciated, this procedure can be inconvenient especially when the interactive whiteboards are separated by significant distances leading to user frustration and a reduction in the utilization of software features.
Alternatively, icons on a toolbar associated with the application window can be used to move the application window to an adjacent target interactive whiteboard, in either the right or left direction as desired, as described in PCT Application No. WO 2009/086631 to Leung et al. entitled “METHOD OF MANAGING APPLICATIONS IN A MULTI-MONITOR COMPUTER SYSTEM AND MULTI-MONITOR COMPUTER SYSTEM EMPLOYING THE METHOD” assigned to SMART Technologies ULC, of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, assignee of the subject application, the content of which is incorporated by reference. In this environment, when it is desired to move an application window to an adjacent target interactive whiteboard, the user must move to the interactive whiteboard on which the application window to be moved is displayed and select the right or left icon to move the application window to the desired adjacent target interactive whiteboard. Above-incorporated PCT Application No. WO 2009/086631 also describes allowing the left or right icons to persist on the interactive whiteboard for a threshold period determined by a timer to permit a user to initiate subsequent application window moves without having to move to another interactive whiteboard.
Known conferencing and meeting management applications, such as Meeting Pro™ offered by SMART Technologies ULC, of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, assignee of the subject application, provide the ability for a user to click on a toolbar menu, display a dialog box comprising a list of application windows, and select an application window to be moved to a particular physical display device. Meeting management applications such as Meeting Pro™ have integrated conferencing solutions similar to Bridgit™, also offered by SMART Technologies ULC, of Calgary, Alberta, Canada in order to enable conference participants to view and share screens remotely from their own personal computers over a network. Using the Meeting Pro™ meeting management application for example, a meeting owner can create a new conference and provide a meeting name and unique session connection code to participants invited to the conference. Invited participants who select the meeting name and enter the unique session connection code, are connected to the Meeting Pro™ meeting room over the conference connection.
When first joining a conference, the primary conference screen of the Meeting Pro™ meeting management application running on the meeting owner's personal computer, typically the meeting owner's desktop, is not immediately shared with the other conference participants. Thus, participants first joining a conference are not provided via their respective displays with any common conference screen and as a result, the participants are not provided with any immediate visual feedback signifying a successful conference connection. Instead, the meeting owner must undertake a series of steps in order to expressly share the primary conference screen with the other conference participants. Unfortunately, this lack of visual feedback may be interpreted by participants as a failed conference connection, causing the participants to disconnect from the conference and attempt a reconnect and/or to contact the meeting owner to sort out the perceived conference connection problem.
In addition to the above problem, in order for the meeting owner to determine who the conference participants are that are sharing the primary conference screen, the meeting owner is required to drill down into a menu structure to view the list of the participants who have successfully completed a conference connection. This opens the possibility for uninvited participants to gain access to the meeting owner's primary conference screen as uninvited participants cannot be readily identified.
It is therefore an object of the present invention at least to provide a novel method of displaying applications in a multi-monitor computer system, a novel multi-monitor computer system employing the method and a novel method of initiating a conference session.